Sailor in iconic Times Square kiss photo gets his due

In George Mendonsa's world, celebrations occasionally lead to kissing.

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By PHIL DEVITT

southcoasttoday.com

By PHIL DEVITT

Posted Aug. 29, 2013 at 10:31 AM

By PHIL DEVITT
Posted Aug. 29, 2013 at 10:31 AM

» Social News

In George Mendonsa's world, celebrations occasionally lead to kissing.

The proof is in the picture.

You know the one: V-J Day, 1945, Times Square — an iconic black-and-white image of a strapping sailor at the world's most famous crossroads, dipping a petite woman in white, his face pressed firmly against hers.

People see a lot when they look at that photo: unbridled passion, romance, victory, relief, bliss.

Mendonsa has always seen himself, even when others could not or would not.

The unwitting subjects were too busy smooching to give LIFE magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt a clear shot of their faces; the photographer was too busy navigating an increasingly packed and raucous Times Square to jot down names. So the kissers' identities remained the subject of debate for much of the late 20th century.

Now Mendonsa, a retired fisherman from Newport, R.I., says the tide is turning in his favor. A recently published book, "The Kissing Sailor: The Mystery Behind the Photo That Ended World War II," neatly packages the evidence supporting his claim.

"George Mendonsa is without a doubt the kissing sailor," said Rhode Island high school history teacher Lawrence Verria, who wrote the book with retired naval aviator George Galdorisi. "To not know the story behind the photo is a disservice not only to history but a disservice to all of us. ... The photo lets us know what the end of a long, costly war feels like. It's everywhere because we love it."

The evidence is what made the 90-year-old World War II veteran a guest of honor at Fall River's Battleship Cove Aug. 24, Navy Day. He was about to see the classic image in a new light — as a colorful oil painting soon to grace a Florida man's private collection. It was shrouded by the American flag until the big reveal.

Mendonsa came to celebrate, but this time he kept his lips to himself. Mostly.

He used them instead to tell his story.

***

It was love at first sight.

After a couple of rough years fighting the Japanese and unpredictable weather in the Pacific Ocean, 22-year-old Mendonsa returned home to Newport in July of 1945 for a month's leave. If his destroyer, USS The Sullivans, was called back to duty, he figured the only thing left to do would be to attack mainland Japan. He didn't want to think about that.

Despite how much he loved the water — the Portuguese-blooded man had grown up fishing in it, after all — he was thrilled to reunite with family and to find distraction for a little while.

When his sister's new in-laws came up from Long Island to visit, they brought along their niece, Rita Petry.

"Twenty-one years old. Blonde. She was beautiful," Mendonsa said with a smile. "I took a shine to the niece."

Mendonsa gave the girl a tour of his hometown before she returned to New York. Then he kept in touch with her by phone. He planned to spend his last day of leave with her — Aug. 14, 1945 — on a date in Manhattan. He'd fly out to his destroyer in San Francisco that night. Perfect.

The couple settled into Radio City Music Hall for a 1:05 p.m. showing of "A Bell for Adano." But they wouldn't get to see the ending. A few scenes into the film, a theater employee pounded on the entrance door and shouted the good news.

Mendonsa remembers what he heard: "The war is over. Japan has surrendered."

The sailor and his date, like many moviegoers, bolted outside to join the party in the streets. The enthusiasm was contagious. The couple headed into Childs Restaurant near the heart of Times Square and enjoyed some libations.

"The booze was flying and I was popping a few," Mendonsa said.

When they headed back out to the street, Petry had trouble keeping up with her elated sailor. Then Mendonsa saw the woman in white. She reminded him of all those nurses he had seen out at sea, the ones who had put themselves in harm's way to care for his injured comrades.

"When I saw the nurse, the excitement of the war over, plus a few drinks in me, I grabbed the nurse and thought nothing of it," Mendonsa said.

He pulled her torso close with his right hand, cradled her neck with his left hand and planted his lips on hers with vigor. The kiss was over after a few seconds.

"She went her way, I went mine, and me and my date left that night," Mendonsa said.

The "nurse" was actually a dental assistant named Greta Zimmer, according to "The Kissing Sailor." She had just arrived in Times Square on her lunch break when a stranger came out of nowhere and kissed her like she had never been kissed before.

***

A friend called Mendonsa in 1980 to ask him where he had been 35 years earlier on Victory over Japan Day.

"I was in Times Square," Mendonsa said.

"I know you were," his friend responded.

Mendonsa's buddy was looking at the famous photo in LIFE magazine, which had just charged the public with a big task: identify the sailor.

That was easy for Mendonsa, who claims he had never seen the photo prior to that day in 1980.

"I looked at the picture and it was just like looking in a mirror," he said. "I studied it and I knew I was positive."

Mendonsa eagerly went to the magazine with his identity to solve the mystery. So did a bunch of other men. Mendonsa claims he has been trying ever since to get proper recognition from the magazine, even as other "Kissing Sailors" continue to wear the title.

The 266-page book, published by Naval Institute Press, lays out the evidence for Mendonsa. A bump on the sailor's left forearm — visible in one of the four photos Eisenstaedt snapped — is in the exact same location on Mendonsa's arm today. Then there are the sailor's unusually large hands — Mendonsa has those, too. Photography analysts and the results of 3D facial scanning done by scientists at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories in Cambridge, among other evidence, all back up Mendonsa's claim.

While all signs point to Mendonsa, Verria, the author, said he doesn't believe all the other claimants have been lying.

"I think they were all in Times Square. I think they all kissed a nurse. I even think somebody took their picture, but it wasn't Alfred Eisenstaedt," he said.

Mendonsa said the best proof of all is the face of his date, clearly visible in the background of the first photograph. There's Petry, watching the scene unfold with a big smile. She said she didn't mind seeing her new beau caught up in jubilation. If she did mind, she had a funny way of showing it. She and Mendonsa got married in 1946. They've been together for 67 years. On Aug. 24 at Battleship Cove, they sat side by side.

***

People like to read things into the classic photograph. Maybe the sailor and the nurse were a madly in love couple when their lips met. Maybe they fell in love that day in Times Square and spent the rest of their lives together.

None of that is true, of course. The truth, according to Verria, is better.

"It's almost like the picture was destined to be taken. It had to be taken," the author said.

The American sailor bumped into the dental assistant, an Austrian Jew whose parents died in the Holocaust, at just the right moment. And the man there to capture that moment was the only one in his German Army regiment to have survived World War I. Mendonsa and his wife remain friendly with the kiss recipient, whose married last name is Friedman.

The painting of the photograph, by New Hampshire artist Jim Laurier, was commissioned by aviation art collector Eugene Eisenberg, who has admired the kissing couple since he was a boy. His son, Terry Eisenberg, attended the unveiling on his father's behalf. The painting will go to a museum when the collector passes away, according to Verria.

"I think he did a good job," Mendonsa said of Laurier after seeing the painting for the first time. "I'm proud that I was in the picture but I'm also proud of the whole Navy."

Mendonsa lingered at Battleship Cove after the formal presentation, after the painting had been safely packed away for its journey south. He shook hands, signed books and talked about his service and the kiss to anyone who asked.

Gabriela Flores asked for a photo, handing her camera to a friend.

"No kissing," Mendonsa said with a smile.

Click.

Then the veteran turned to Flores and gave her a peck on the lips.

No camera was quick enough to capture his kiss. And this time his date wasn't watching.

Phil Devitt can be reached at editor@fallriverspirit.com or (508) 979-4492.